Skylox - My Everything
by TheBane
Summary: Two best friends, the closest you will find. With Ty's family tearing apart at the seams, his only escape is his best friend Adam. A school camp ignites a spark between the two, pulling them closer than ever. But will a single photograph threaten their secret and tear their friendship apart? Who will snap under pressure? Find out in Skylox - My Everything
1. Prologue

Prologue

***Ty's POV***

"You asshole! How could you!?" I cried, the tears threatening to spill. I couldn't believe what he had done. And to think I fucking trusted him.

"No, Ty, it's not how it seems! Please! Let me explain!" Adam pleaded, not bothering to hold back his tears. I simply shook my head and glared at him in disappointment.

"Not this time Adam. You've gone too far." I turned away from him and began making my way to the door, but a strong, warm hand grabbed my wrist and spun me back around.

"Please…" He sobbed, his face streaked with tears.

"Don't. Fucking. Touch me." I snarled, snatching my hand back and storming out the door. The harsh cold of winter enveloped me, causing me to regret my choice of wardrobe. My pace quickened and I glanced at the dark menacing sky above me. My house was a good 10 minutes away on foot, but I couldn't concentrate for my mind was boiling over with rage. I couldn't care less for the cold or how long it took me to reach home, my thoughts were entirely focused on Adam and what he'd done.

I dragged my cold, tired body up the steps to my porch, fumbling clumsily through my pockets in a search for my keys. _Fuck!_ I'd left them on Adam's coffee table. Great night for my parents to pick to go on a 'date'. I shivered at the disturbing thought. Surely there should be some kind of law stating that wrinkly people should be banned from all forms of P.D.A. I turned around to face the road when I realised it was snowing! Normally I loved the snow, but it only reminded me of that day on school camp with Adam. As everything from the past day compiled in my head, I realised the empty feeling I was experiencing, the one that came from the absence of Adam. All our memories, both good and bad replayed in my head, over and over. I leant my forehead against the front door and felt the tears escape my eyes and slowly descend down my cheeks. I let out a cry of frustration as I kicked the wall with extreme force.

"How did this all happen?!" I cried, frustrated, talking to no one. I turned back around a slid slowly down the wall, until I was sitting with my arms wrapped around my knees.

"Oh yeah, I fell for my best friend. That's how." I whispered, burying my face in my knees and crying myself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 1

**Ty's POV**

The obnoxious school bell rang throughout my ears, almost immediately followed by the thunder of footsteps as the whole school made a dash for escape. It was the end of the school week, but I was in no hurry to get home. I sighed, tossing my books into my bag and making my way to the door of the now almost empty classroom. Mr Curtis glanced up from his rather large pile of to-be-marked homework and smiled at me.

"Everything alright Ty?" He questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reply, putting on a smile.

"Well, if you ever need to chat, you know where to find me. Hurry along now, go enjoy your weekend." He sighed. "I'd best get back to marking all this then ey? See you on Monday." He gestured towards the pile of work in front of him.

I nodded, mumbling a quick 'seeya' to him and I shuffled quickly out of the door.

**Adam's POV**

_Ugh, where is he? _Hundreds of students after students poured out of the front gates, a few whom I knew and waved goodbye to, but none of which were Ty. What's taking him so long? He's usually out before all of us! As the stampede thinned, I saw him. He looked pale, paler than usual (if that's possible) and not as cheerful as usual. He looked up and saw me, waving and jogging over. We greeted each other with the standard handshake and began walking.

"What's up man? You seem… Unhappy?" I gave him a sideways glance. He scuffed the toes of his shoes on the pavement.

"Eh, not really looking forward to going home. Mum and Dad have been arguing a lot lately." He murmured. That wasn't surprising. Ty's parents weren't exactly the most loving of couples.

"Oh… That's a shame… Hey, do you want to crash at mine tonight? Mum won't mind." I offered, hoping he'd accept.

"Sure, let me call dad though." I grinned as he pulled out his mobile and dialled his dad's number. He stopped walking as the phone began ringing.

"Yeah, hi dad. It's me. Just letting you know that I'll be spending the night at Adam's… Yeah… Yep… Mhm… I'll borrow his… Ok. See you tomorrow." He hung up and smiled at me.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" He sprinted off, me at his heels. Racing each other home had become almost tradition for us; it was something that had started in primary school.

I overtook Ty on the path up to my front porch, swinging my bag around to my chest so I could pull out my keys. I charged through the door, up the stairs and into my room. I tossed my bag to the floor lazily and flopped onto my bed. Ty was carefully placing his bag behind my door, slipping off his shoes and sitting gingerly on the end of my bed.

"Ugh. What do you wanna do?" I asked, running a hand through my curly hair. He grinned.

"Come on Adam, is that even a question?" He reached behind my bed and pulled out a handful of various plastic guns and ammo.

"A Nerf war? Aren't we a little too old for that Ty?" I grinned lazily at him. He gasped, pulling the toys closer to his chest and whispering to them. I laughed and grabbed my favourite gun, with a handful of ammo, and ran out the door and down the stairs, making a noise that only a tortured pig could manage. I heard Ty laughing and saw a yellow bullet whizz past my head. My hand gripped the wooden railing at the bottom of the stairs, swinging my body with the momentum I had gained as I galloped down the stairs. My mum was sitting in her favourite lounge chair in the living room, reading the newspaper as I sped into the room, diving behind a couch. Ty had tripped up on something behind me, giving me the upper hand.

My breath stabilised, and I peered out from behind to couch to only see Ty standing there, gun in hand, while my mother pointed directly at me and whispering something. _Dammit mum! You're meant to be on my side._ I furrowed my brow, squealing as bullets were blasted in my direction, one narrowly missing my ear. I leapt out of the back door, conveniently open, and ran around in circles and making zig-zag patterns around the lawn as Ty chased, laughing. After much battle, which I came very close to winning, Ty had me penned up in a corner of the garden. I dropped to my knees, slowly lifting my hands up in the air. Much to Ty's delight, he had won. _This time._ His hand appeared in my sight, offering to help me up. I took it and we began work on the tedious process that is collecting all of the bullet's you've fired.

We lay on the sofa, laughing.

"I'm sorry I said we were too old. We're never too old for a Nerf war!" I chuckled, glancing at Ty. He nodded and gave me a small smile. I looked over to the door, where mum was standing.

"Hi boys, glad to see you're having fun." She gave Ty an understanding glance, I had told her about his parents. "I'm off to work now, and your father won't be back until tomorrow around lunch. I've left dinner in the fridge for you two. Can you make sure that Abigail's asleep before 9? She's got a big day tomorrow." I nodded and she turned away, hurrying out the door. I turned back to face Ty.

"So. Whole house to ourselves, aside from my sister. Whatcha wanna do?" His face twisted into deep thought, before lighting up. I swear I almost saw a light bulb appear above his head. He grinned.

"I think it's time for a horror movie marathon, don't you?"

"I think it is. I'LL GET THE POPCORN!" I called, running into the kitchen.

The microwave beeped, and the mouth-watering scent of popcorn wafted through my nostrils. I smiled and ripped open the hot bag, pouring it clumsily into a large bowl. I re-entered the living room to find a large fortress made of cushions and blankets, supported by the front of the sofa.

"Hmm. I wonder where Ty's gone? I guess I'll just have to eat all this popcorn myself." I thought aloud. A hardly audible 'No!' was uttered, just moments before I sat on top of the fortress that Ty was hiding inside. I heard him squeal and squirm around, restricted by my weight. He was, however, stronger than me, and managed to crawl out from under his fabric cell.

I placed the popcorn on the table and extended my arm to help Ty up. "I think we may need a new fort."

He laughed. "I think we do." We set up our amazing fort, supported by the sofa cushions and covered with some rugs. The coffee table was slid out of the way and the popcorn nestled between us. I clicked play, and the screen lit up.

"Ooh, wait! I'll get the lights." Ty exclaimed, hopping up and nearly sending popcorn everywhere. The lights dimmed and we began watching the movie. We both loved horror movies, but I could never sleep after watching them. Unfortunately, I was going to be having nightmares about possessed people and exorcisms, as we were watching none other than _The Exorcist. _

It was around 9:30 that the movie finished, and we agreed on a toilet break before the next. Ty ran off to the downstairs toilet, so I plodded upstairs to use my parent's ensuite. The door to Abigail's room was ajar, and I could hear her muffled voice. I'd get in so much crap if mum finds out she was up past 9. I slowly pushed the door open to find her on Skype, chatting to her friend about something.

"Ahem. If you don't want mum to find out, I'd suggest you go to bed now. Trust me, I'll get it just as bad as you if she does." Her head snapped around, and her face truly epitomised the phrase 'Rabbit in headlights'. The Skype call was ended abruptly and Abigail pushed past me, muttering some kind of insult.

It was around 3am that Ty had fallen asleep, and we had watched three movies. I yawned and crawled out of our fort, making sure not to disturb Ty. I lazily sloped off to the bathroom to brush my teeth, turning off various lights as I went.

Dragging a few blankets behind me, I crawled back into our fort and tossed one over Ty. I rolled around and pulled mine up over my shoulders.

"Night Ty." I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me.


	3. Chapter 2

**Ty's POV**

I woke up inside our fort at around 7:30, with Adam sleeping quietly next to me. He had this little frown on his face, which I now know indicates he's having a bad dream. Most probably from the movies we watched last night. I crawled out of the cushion fortress and made my way upstairs to check my phone. One new message from dad? Wonder what it could be about.

**Dad: Hey Ty, can you head home as soon as you see this? Your mother and I need to talk to you.**

_Shit_. Nothing good ever came after that sentence. I grabbed some clean clothes of Adam's and slipped them on. He won't mind, I'll just return them on Monday. Slinging my bag on my back, I made my way back downstairs. To prevent Adam from cleaning up _all _our mess, I slowly took down the fort, making sure not to wake him. When everything was back in its place, I lifted a still sleeping Adam up and carefully lay him on the sofa.

As soon as I was out the door, my legs kicked in to action and I began running through the familiar streets. It wasn't a long route from his house to mine, so it took me all of 3 minutes to jog home. _What could mom and dad want to talk to me about? Is something wrong? Did something happen to mom? _I continued to worry myself with these questions until I reached my front door.

Dad opened it before I even had the chance to pull out my keys, and I was pulled inside and into the living room. Mom was sitting in her chair, and dad sat in the one opposite. They motioned for me to sit also. Dad glanced at mom and took a deep breath.

"So, Ty. As you've probably noticed, your mother and I haven't exactly been the most… cooperative of parents. So last night we came to a conclusion." He looked down nervously. The worst possible words a child could hear came next. "Either we get marriage counselling, or we get a divorce. I'm still waiting on your mother's decision, but I'll let you know that for your sake, I'd prefer marriage counselling." He looked up and into my eyes. I was lost for words, my mouth unable to form a simple sentence. I let out a sound similar to a whimper and ran down the hall to my room. The door slammed shut behind me and I threw my bag to the ground carelessly.

I slumped on to my bed and curled up into a ball. _I knew it was bad, but divorce? I could never have envisioned it had gotten this bad._ I had first noticed something was wrong when dad started sleeping in the spare bedroom next to mine instead of upstairs with mom. I thought it was because of mom's snoring, but when the arguments started I realised it wasn't a matter of simple sleep disturbance.

I must've cried myself to sleep, as the next thing I knew there was a knock on my door and dad cautiously opening it. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my eyes to the light pouring in from my window.

"Lunch is ready Ty." He said softly, giving me a sympathetic look. How dare he. He's the one getting a divorce, isn't he? I glared at him as I slid off the bed and made my way down the hall to the kitchen. Mom was sitting with her back to me on one of the kitchen stools, a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. I pulled myself up on to the stool next to hers and looked at the plate in front of me. My whole appetite had been ruined, so I sat there staring at the plate inexpressively. Mom and dad maintained a casual conversation, almost like a normal family would.

If a passer-by happened to look through the kitchen window, they wouldn't of thought for a second these two were on the brink of divorce, or that this family was slowly tearing apart. They would've seen two happy adults and a sulky teenager, just like a typical family. How wrong they would be. My focus was brought back to the conversation at the sound of my name.

"Ty? Are you there?" Mom was looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah?"

"You haven't touched your food."

"I guess I'm not hungry." There was a small silence before she spoke again.

"Are you home for dinner tonight?" She asked.

"Like you care!" I snapped, unable to take the 'let's play happy families' act anymore. She looked shocked, as did dad.

"Tyler! Don't speak to your mother like that!" Dad growled.

"It's not like you ever speak to her nicely! Neither of you! Every single night, the arguments begin. Over the littlest of things. Have you even considered how this affects me? I hear everything, and I'm not surprised if the neighbours do too. Can you please just stop with the fucking happy family act? It doesn't change the fact that you two are getting divorced!" I glared at them, both of them shocked by my outburst.

"Tyler-" Mom started.

"In answer to your question, no. I'm not." I snarled. With that remark, I went to my room, grabbed my phone and stormed outside, slamming the front door.

I had no idea where I was going, or why I decided to leave. All I knew is that I needed to be away from my parents for a while.

I wandered the streets aimlessly, trying to clear my head. I turned around the corner of Mattheson Rd and saw the local park. This seems to be a good place to sit. No nosy people wanting in on your deepest secrets and all that crap. I wandered down a narrow path that lead right through the centre of the park, stopping at a bench by a small pond. It was currently vacant, so I sat down and stared at the ground, not really thinking about anything. Just sitting.

I don't know how long I sat there staring at the single blade of grass between my feet, but the sun was slowly sinking in the sky and I needed to find a place for the night. I didn't want to stay here, not in winter anyway. I was literally about to get up when Mitch and Jerome, the school's famous gay couple and two of my best friends, walked past hand-in-hand.

"Mitch! Jerome! Guys!" I called, catching up to them. They turned around and smiled at me.

"Ty! Hey buddy. Whatcha doing here?" Jerome asked.

"Uhh, escaping from family?" I said tentatively. Mitch gave me an understanding glance. His parents separated 6 years ago.

"Need a place to stay the night?" He asked. Thank god he understood what I was going through.

"If you don't mind, thanks." We began walking back in the direction I initially came from. We walked in silence for the next few minutes, apart from the occasional mumbling between Jerome and Mitch.

Mitch's house was quite a walk away, being the furthest from school out of all our crew. The sun was setting, a picturesque array of orange, blue and pink painted throughout the sky ahead of us. It made me think of the few truly beautiful things we have in life. Happiness, hope and the ones we love; all things that aren't really existent in my life at present. Mitch was the first to break the silence.

"So, do you want to share? You don't have to if you don't want to." He glanced at me, still holding hands with Jerome. I exhaled slowly. _What harm could it do?_

"Mom and dad are contemplating divorce. It's that or counselling. I just… I don't know how to deal with it." I shifted my gaze to my now suddenly interesting white sneakers. An arm was wrapped around my shoulder, and I looked up to see Mitch smiling at me.

"I'm always here for you, buddy. We all are. Now let's get inside before it gets dark and I'll give you some pointers." He shivered as the cold got seemingly more noticeable, and we walked up to his door. He banged on the door, having forgotten his keys as per usual. Mitch was rather forgetful at times. "Mom! It's me! Let us in! I'm cold." He pouted at Jerome who chuckled and shuffled closer to him.

They were so perfect for each other, it was insane. How they managed to push through the teasing, I'll never know. All I know now is that the bullies are too afraid to lay a finger on either of them, and that they've got almost every girl at school wanting to be their friend.

Mitch's mom opened the door, smiling widely at us.

"Come in boys! God, you must be freezing. Let me turn the heater up." She bustled off to the lounge room and Mitch guided us to the kitchen.

"Anyone for hot chocolate?" He grinned.

Jerome bounded up behind him, pulling open a drawer and grabbing three mugs. "Is that even a question biggums?" They began parading around the kitchen cumbersomely; making hot chocolate in the most ridiculous fashion I've ever seen. I propped myself against the counter, smiling as I watched the two sling their arms around each other and smile as the milk was heating_. _As cliché and cheesy as it sounds, I wish I had someone like that, to complete me: my other half.


	4. Chapter 3

**_-Ty-_**

I woke up after an uneasy sleep, having eventually fallen asleep at around midnight, if not later. Mitch was still asleep, being known for sleeping in, whilst Jerome was already up and probably in the bathroom. I plodded down the hallway and ran a hand through my bed hair in an attempt to tame it. The smell of buttered toast hung in the air as I stepped into the kitchen, scanning the room for the source. Jerome stood with his back to me at the counter, buttering his toast. The digital clock on the bench read 10:30AM and the radio was on. I shuffled up behind Jerome and hopped up onto the counter next to him.

"Good morning! How'd you sleep?" He asked cheerily. I grunted in reply, to which he laughed. "Exactly what Mitch would say." He pulled a chair out from the breakfast bar and sat down, starting his toast. "Want some?" He asked through a mouthful of toast.

"No thanks, I'll grab some cereal." I mumbled, sliding off the counter and ransacking Mitch's cupboards for the cereal. "Fruit Whirls huh?" I mused, grabbing the cheapo cereal and setting it down on the bench.

About five minutes later, just as I was about to finish my cereal, Mitch walked in. Jerome faked a gasp and deliberately fell off his chair.

"He's awake! Oh my god it's a miracle! Someone take a photo!" He cried, pulling himself back up. Mitch simply rolled his eyes and went for the fridge.

"So, what are the plans for today?" I asked Jerome nonchalantly, placing my bowl in the sink and washing it.

"Well, Mitch and I were planning on going to see a movie this afternoon, but apart from that our day's pretty clear. You're welcome to tag along to the movie if you'd like, the more the merrier, ey?" He ran his plate under the tap and placed it on the rack.

"If it's all right, I might join you guys? I don't think I'm… prepared to face the parentals just yet." I smiled and self-consciously smoothed my hair.

"No problemo little buddy, it's nice to have some different company once in awhile. Jerome can get ever-so boring." Mitch teased.

"Hey! I'm not boring." Jerome retorted.

"You are so."

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Am not!"

"Guys!" I laughed at their childish bickering as they stuck their tongues out at the other. "I'm gonna go take a shower, play nice while I'm gone."

"Not making any promises there." Mitch winked.

**_-Adam-_**

I hadn't heard from Ty since he left yesterday morning, though I'd sent him numerous texts and voice mails. I had woken up on the couch, with no trace of Ty. He'd taken down our fortress and lifted me onto the couch. No surprise; since he joined the athletics team he's packed on quite the bit of muscle. I decided to try his mobile one last time. I flipped open my phone (flip-phone, I know. What a cool kid I am) and pressed speed-dial. It began ringing. Once. Twice. Three times. _He's not picking up._ Then on the fourth ring, he picked up!

"What's up man?" His voice echoed down the line.

"Ty! Jesus, do you ever check your phone?" I exhaled in relief. I heard his distinct laugh coming from the other end.

"God, you sound just like my mom. What did you need?"

"Just checking you were alright man, you disappeared without a trace. I thought you'd been gang-banged or something."

"Gang-banged? God, I hope not, considering we're in the middle of suburban California. I'm seriously concerned as to what the hell goes on in your brain. No, I'm perfectly fine. Just chilling with Mitch and Jerome at Mitch's place. We're going to see a movie later, if you want to come with?"

"Sorry, I can't. My great aunt's birthday lunch is today and I'm expected to go discuss politics and other exciting things. What a joyful afternoon I'll have!" I groaned at the thought. "I think this time I'll avoid her 'Stuffed Mushroom Surprise". Guess what the surprise is? Food poisoning! Diarrhoea and vomiting for a week, what fun that is." Ty laughed again, he'd seen what those mushrooms could do to you.

"All right then, I wish you good luck, you'll need it to come out of that alive. I'd better finish getting dressed though, I don't know how Mitch will take it if he finds me sitting on his bed in my underwear." I heard a feminine sounding scream from the background. "Whoops, too late! I'll talk to you later Adam."

"Seeya." I snapped my phone shut and fell back against my pillows. Oh I'm so looking forward to lunch.

**_-Ty-_**

I tossed a pillow in Mitch's direction and lunged for my shirt, dragging it over my head.  
"Honestly Ty, you could at least warn me before I enter and see you half naked. Speaking of which, have you been working out? I swear you weren't that toned a few months ago." He chuckled and jabbed my abdomen with his index finger.

"Hey! And yes, I've been taking care of myself." I swatted his hand away and pulled on a pair of loosely fitted jeans that Jerome never wears.

"Pretty damn good care of yourself if I say so." He replied, Jerome walking up behind him.

"What are you two ladies gossiping about?" He grinned.

"Ty's abs. And I think you'll find I'm the man in this relationship." Mitch poked Jerome's side.

"Ty has abs? And nuh-uh, no way miss "I-use-night-time-moisturiser".

"Hey! That is private information. There's nothing wrong with taking pride in one's skin, right Ty?" Mitch turned to me. I put my hands up in defence.

"I'm staying out of this." I grinned, leaving them to discuss their status in the relationship.

The movie theatre was almost empty when we got there, with us taking up about 5 seats in the middle row. After yet another argument at the counter, Mitch had ended up paying for himself and a sulky Jerome, whilst I payed for myself. Jerome had managed to sneak a large bag of Skittles into the theatre and was currently chomping on them obnoxiously. The only other people in the theatre were a young couple, seated in the back corner, and a group of teenage girls who sat a few rows in front. They kept sneaking glances at us, probably trying to suss out if we were worth their time. By the time the advertisements had started, two of them had gained enough courage to actually climb over the seats and lean on the ones in front of us.

"Hey, I'm Sally, and this is Georgia." They continued small talking and flirting for a bit until Sally slipped Mitch a small piece of paper, almost certainly holding her number. Jerome looked a little pissed and was obviously tired with them. He slid his arm across Mitch's shoulders.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, gentlemen, but this woman is already accounted for." He grinned at them, letting the surprise sink in. As the piece-de-resistance, Mitch leant over and gave Jerome a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. The girls looked a little disappointed, but still congratulated the two. Just as Sally was turning to go back to her friends, Georgia, who'd kept rather quiet, delicately handed me a similar piece of paper, smiled and clambered back to re-join her friends. She was pretty cute; perhaps I will call her. I rolled up the paper and put it in my pocket, just as the opening credits started playing.

"That was a great movie, we should do it again sometime. However I must bid you lovely ladies farewell, as I fear it is time to return to my abode. Send a search party if I'm not at school tomorrow." I gave them each a fist-bump and made my way out of the cinemas. Oh happy days, it's time to talk to the parents.

I ambled up the driveway and let myself in, kicking off my sneakers and plodding down the hall to my bedroom.

"Ty? Is that you?" Mom called from her study.

"No, it's the tooth fairy." I retorted and closed my door. I put my phone in its dock to charge and turned on the radio. _Advertisements… More advertisements… Screamo… Classical… Ah. There it is._ I twisted the dial to turn up the volume and slumped down at my desk. My laptop dinged as soon as I opened it to alert me that I had received an email.

From: (Not a real email address, please don't try it)

Subject: Modern History Assessment Reminder

A reminder to all students that tomorrow's in class essay will proceed. A single page of notes is allowed. It must be one sided, size 12 font Cambria, dot point form and have a 1-inch margin. Please be prepared, as there will be no retakes and this essay will go directly to your end of semester grade. It constitutes for 60% of your overall mark and I'm expecting great results from all of you.

Best of luck to you all.

I glanced at the sheet of notes I had printed out days ago. As long as I stick to the guidelines, I should be just fine. I checked that I had done all the necessary homework for tomorrow. _English: check. Maths: check. Modern History: check. Physics: check._ I have Advanced PE tomorrow for 2nd period, so that should relax me before the essay. I let out a relieved sigh. For once, all my homework was done with plenty of time to spare. I can honestly say it feels great. My moment of triumph and relaxation was interrupted when a firm knock could be heard over the legendary sound of Queen. Mom edged the door open gently, followed by dad. I switched off the radio, the atmosphere so thick with tension I could've cut through it with a sword. If I had a sword, that is.

"Ty, we uh… We need to talk." Dad sat on my bed while mom stood, glancing around at my poster-covered walls with obvious disgust. She's never appreciated my posters of sports stars and rock legends. Mom always expected me to be a fully academic student and was purely shocked when I announced that I had joined the aths team. She's never shown any interest, nor has she turned up to any of my sporting events. I spun around in my chair to face them.

"Tyler, we know how this must affect you, believe me. I mean, honestly, you've started athletics! We both know you're destined for academic greatness. Why squander your skill on silly sports? So your father and I reached a decision. For you, we'll go through marriage counselling. We'll try and be a normal, functional family again." She smiled, forced and verging on scary. Dad simply shook his head and sighed.

"It took no convincing for me to agree to counselling. I don't think your mother understands the skill, determination and effort it takes to do these 'silly sports'. Look at how hard you've worked for those medals and trophies. I couldn't be prouder." He motioned to the wooden cabinet containing all that. Mom simply glared at him and tutted. I took this as an opportunity to ask mom something I've been putting off for too long.

"Mom, seeing as we're being a happy family, will you come to my race on Friday? I'm in a few events and I hoped you could be there." She looked shocked at this.

"Tyler sweetheart, I'm working Friday. You know that." She shook her head in disapproval. It was worth a shot. Dad shot me an apologetic glance before getting up and out the door. Mom followed. I sighed and tossed the pencil I had been holding onto the desk, walking over and falling onto my bed. _Why can't my family be normal like everyone else's?_

I raced into my English class just moments after the second bell. Miss Matthews looked pointedly at the generic school clock on the wall. _God, I hate her._ I apologised and weaved my way through the desks to my seat next to Jason, one of my good friends. I greeted him with the standard handshake as I slid into my seat.

"Hey man, how are you?" He asked quietly.

"Pretty good, yourself?" I grinned, pulling my books out of my bag.

"Eh, can't complain. I hear you're having some family trouble?"

"My god, those two can't shut their mouths for a second, can they?" We laughed quietly before shutting up after a death glare from Miss.

"Might I remind you that this Wednesday, there will be an in class assessment. You will be given an excerpt from a famous poem, which you will be required to annotate and then handwrite a minimum one page response detailing the written techniques the author uses. I urge you all to study, as it will be very evident if you do not." A small smirk played on her lips, enjoying the dismayed response she got from the class. "But now, please turn your attention to the page that is being handed out now."

English dragged on and the class barely made it out alive. I feel sorry for those in the front row, as they had to fight off the tidal wave of spit that was sprayed from her mouth as she shouted at some poor guy. Her chins were practically having a 70's disco they were wobbling so much. I think it's safe to say that no one really likes Miss Matthews. Fortunately I have PE next, then first break, then modern history. That's the only subject I have to worry about today. I pushed my way through the crowd of rowdy students, eager to get to the gym. The usual shenanigans of the locker room were taking place, towel flicking and spraying deodorant everywhere. Coughing from all the chemicals that I was inhaling, I stripped of my white polo shirt and jeans, and then changed into the school's sports uniform. It featured the school's logo and was made out of a bright red fabric, white stripes running down the sides. The shorts were your standard school shorts, black and knee-length with a white logo.

Mr Fletcher blew his whistle, bringing us all to a halt.

"All right boys, those of you who are in the carnival on Friday, please follow Mrs Tennedy and you can train for your events. The rest of you, follow me to the weights room." A small group of guys, including myself, walked over to where Mrs T was waiting. We laughed as the rest of the class groaned and dragged themselves towards the door labelled: Weights Room.

"Okay, those of you training for sprints or long distance, you can go grab some spikes and start your warm-up. All those in jumps or hurdles need to jog 2 laps of the track and I'll get the equipment out for you. Throws, 1 lap and you can take whatever you need from the shed." We all nodded and started ambling down to the track. My warm-up consisted of 4 laps of the track and then 4 sets of 80 metre sprints. My actual training meant doing two sets of 100 metre sprints, 200 metre sprints, and a 400 metre run. I then go over to where Mrs T set up the hurdles and do 5 sets of those. Then I work on my starts with the blocks for the rest of the session.

The rest of the day dragged by and I just survived the Modern History essay. The bell signalling the end of last period rang, which sent the whole school into chaos. Monday afternoons are always like this. Everyone's desperate to get home. Before any of us could leave the Physics class, Mr Jameson cleared his throat and stood up behind his desk.  
"All those in tutorial classes 1, 4, 7 and 13 please stay behind, I have an important note for you to take home." He called above the ruckus. A few groans could be heard, including my own. I was in tutorial 7. It turns out the note was to notify parents of an upcoming school camp next week. It was to some camp called Camp David, and it's for leadership training. It goes for 3 days, meaning 3 days without having to deal with my family. Sounds great to me. I know that Adam's in tutorial 1, and that Jason's in 4, so they'll be going. Mitch and Jerome I'm not sure of, I think one of them is in 4 with Jason, but I don't know which.

The flow of students pushed me towards the school gates, where I met up with Adam and Mitch. Jerome had debating this afternoon, so it was just us three.

"Did you guys get the note?" Mitch asked eagerly.

"Yeah man, do you think you'll go?" Adam replied.

"Definitely! Jerome's not going 'cause he's in tute 2, but it should be a heap of fun. You going Ty?" He turned to me.

"Of course! Any chance to escape the parents, am I right?" They both laughed.

"Definitely."


End file.
